The next morning.
Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, casting dappled shadows across the carpet.
Zhou Suisui was jolted awake by the alarm she had set in advance. Still groggy, she crawled out from under the covers, her hair sticking up in every direction like a bird’s nest. She yawned.
“I’m so tired…”
Rubbing her bleary eyes, she pouted. “This job isn’t easy to show up for.”
But the moment she remembered that her brother might already have left, she snapped fully awake. She flipped out of bed and hurried toward the bathroom.
Her movements were hurried and forceful, and she failed to notice the delicate key beside her pillow. As she shifted, it fell beneath the bed, where the white silk bed skirt concealed it completely.
Half an hour later.
After washing up, Zhou Suisui appeared downstairs, once again looking youthful and full of energy.
Sure enough, her brother was already waiting in the living room. Dressed in a sharp suit, with his thick black hair combed neatly into place, he looked refreshed, spirited, and impossibly handsome.
For a moment, Zhou Suisui was almost dazzled by him.
As far back as she could remember, her brother had been like this every day.
He left early and returned late, always making sure he looked perfectly put together. He was like an old ox that never tired, shouldering the hopes of the entire Zhou Group.
The sleepiness from getting up early vanished at once, replaced by an ache of indescribable concern for her brother.
The siblings exchanged a glance.
Zhou Sui'an looked at the dark circles beneath her eyes. “Did you sleep badly?”
“Isn’t it a little too early? Why don’t you go to the office later?”
As the company’s president, Zhou Sui'an was usually the first person to arrive at the office. Yet now, worried that his younger sister had gotten up too early, he was willing to make an exception for her.
Zhou Suisui shook her head firmly. “I’m going with you.”
Now that she had decided to go to the company and help her brother, she wasn’t going to make excuses for herself.
Zhou Sui'an’s lips parted, as though he wanted to say something else, but Zhou Suisui tugged him toward the dining room.
“Don’t try to talk me out of it. Let’s eat breakfast first, or we’ll be late.”
Most mornings, Zhou Sui'an had Sister Wu pack his breakfast for him so he could eat it on the way.
It was also common for him to forget to eat once he became busy.
He was not like Jiang Zongyan, who was naturally brilliant and could master anything after seeing it once. Compared with those formidable talents, Zhou Sui'an had to put in twice the effort to achieve his goals.
After all these years, he had long since grown used to it.
Complaining about hardship or exhaustion would not make anyone share his burden. On the contrary, it would only make the old foxes in the company with ulterior motives think he was easy to bully.
But today, Suisui was going to the office with him. He could go hungry if necessary, but his sister could not.
So Zhou Sui'an said nothing and obediently followed Zhou Suisui into the dining room.
—
After breakfast, the siblings drove to the office.
Zhou Suisui handed the food packed by the chef to Wang Xin, the director of the Administration Department, and asked her to distribute it among everyone. She also thanked the staff for bringing things to her home the day before and reminded them not to do so again.
“Okay,” Wang Xin replied with a nod. She had a favorable impression of Zhou Suisui, the young heiress who carried herself without any airs.
The Zhou Group had several thousand employees, and the president’s secretary’s office alone had eight secretaries.
The eight secretaries were each beautiful in her own way, with different figures and personalities. All of them were highly educated and attractive, and every one of them had a honeyed tongue.
Wasn’t there a saying that the one closest to the water gets the moon first?
So how was it that not a single one of them had managed to catch her brother’s eye?
Zhou Suisui couldn’t understand it. She sighed inwardly, feeling a little regretful.
As soon as they entered the office, Zhou Sui'an placed a booklet in front of her.
“Take a look at this.”
Zhou Suisui picked it up and flipped through it. It was about an upcoming industry forum that would bring together the country’s leading figures in technology.
As an emerging technology company that had successfully transitioned from real estate and finance, the Zhou Group was naturally one of the event’s most important invitees.
However, Zhou Sui'an had only recently returned from overseas, and there was still a mountain of work waiting for him at the company. He could not get away for the time being.
Sending Zhou Suisui to attend the forum would allow her to connect with top talents in the industry. She could also take the opportunity to visit Hai City and clear her head.
“You’ll attend as the Zhou Group’s representative. The conference lasts two days, so don’t rush back. Take the opportunity to look around and have some fun.”
The city bordered the sea on three sides and had become a hugely popular tourist destination online.
Blue seas, blue skies—the horizon and the water blending into one.
The conference venue had been selected as a pavilion in the sky overlooking the sea, located within the scenic area.
After giving it a brief thought, Zhou Suisui nodded without hesitation.
“I’ll ask Assistant Wen to book my flight right now.”
“There’s no rush. I’ll arrange everything for you. I’ll send two directors along with you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask them.”
“Okay.”
After a pause, Zhou Sui'an added anxiously, “All of your brother’s money is in your hands. Spend whatever you want. Don’t worry about saving money for me.”
Zhou Suisui’s nose stung, and a wave of sourness rose in her chest.
In this world, if there was someone who loved and spoiled her unconditionally, that person was undoubtedly her brother.
Thinking about how she had deceived him during this period, she said guiltily, “Brother, tell A-Biao and A-Ling to stop following me. I won’t meet Jiang Zongyan in secret anymore.”
The sudden mention of the twins brought an awkward look to Zhou Sui'an’s handsome face.
“Suisui, I was only worried that you’d be deceived. Don’t be angry. I didn’t mean anything else.”
“I know you’re doing it for my own good. Suisui isn’t angry.”
Zhou Sui'an sniffed. His sister was so sweet—she hadn’t even gotten angry with him over this.
He said, “It’s good that you understand. Listen to your brother. Jiang Zongyan isn’t the right man for you.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Suisui answered obediently.
But inwardly, she thought: Whether Jiang Zongyan was the right man for her didn’t matter. He wasn’t real anyway. The most important thing was that her brother really hadn’t met with Su Wan again over the past few days.
At the police station, the matter of Wang Zhengfei being sentenced had already been settled. No matter what tricks Su Wan tried, there was nothing she could do.
Everything was moving in a better direction, and that was enough.
Zhou Sui'an took out another file and told her to familiarize herself with it first. There was no point going into battle unprepared.
Apart from making an appearance at the forum, she had another purpose: to poach several top engineers specializing in computational power from other companies.
Zhou Suisui understood. Following the information in the file, she turned the pages one by one.
She had to remember not only these people’s names, but also their impressive résumés.
This was undoubtedly a high-level gathering of top talent from around the world.
The youngest engineer on the team was only twenty years old, about the same age as her.
Zhou Suisui secretly clicked her tongue in amazement. What had these people grown up eating? How could their brains be so brilliant?
She continued turning the pages.
Suddenly, a face with exceptionally striking bone structure appeared before her.
The man stood alone on a podium, tall and long-legged. Behind him were the presentation materials for Jiang International Capital’s press conference.
His indifferent gaze swept across the audience, the sharpness in his eyes seemingly solid enough to cut.
Even a single glance into his eyes would leave ripples in the depths of one’s heart.
Jiang Zongyan?
Why would his profile appear here? Had the organizers made a mistake?
Then again, the Jiang Group had also expanded into the technology industry.
Unlike the other companies, its primary business was investment.
Whether it was the Zhou family, WTB, which had recently risen to prominence, or the tech upstarts on Wall Street, every technology company of any global standing had investments from Jiang International Capital behind it.
Zhou Suisui suddenly thought of a phrase: “He’s the boss of all bosses.”
“Assistant Zhou.”
Just then, a nervous voice suddenly came from somewhere ahead and above her.
